Automatic regulator.



w. A. TURBAYNE.

AUTOMATIC REGULATOR.

APPLICATION-FILED SEPT-25. I912.

Patented Jan. 1, 1918.

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w. A. TURBA YNE. AUTOMATIC REGULATOR.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT.25. I912.

Patented Jan. 1,1918.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2- W MP- w. A. TURBAY'NE.

AUTOMATIC REGULATOR.

APPLICATION FILED $591225. 1912 3 BHEBTSBHIIET 3.

Patented Jan. 1, 1918.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WIlILLIAM A. TUBBAYNE, OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGN- MENTS, TOU, S. LIGHT & HEAT CORPORATION. OF NIAGARA FALLS, NEW YORK, A i =COBPOBATION OF NEW YORK.

AUTOMATIC REGULATOR.

- 'ing had to the accompanying drawing,

sis

forming a part of this specification.

This invention relates to improvements in automatic regulators.

This regulator is especially adapted for -use onvariable speed generators such as are employed inv car lighting systems in which a. storage battery is used to light the lamps when the generator is operating at a low speed or is at rest.

An object-of the invention is to provide a regulator which will efliciently regulate a car lighting system under all conditions of operation.

A further object is to provide a regulator by means of which a stable voltage may be maintained at the extremely high speeds at which the generator in such a system is ordinarily operated.

. An additional object is to provide a regulator ,which will automatically operate to maintain proper voltage on the system at all times.

A still further object is to provide a regulator which will automatically maintain a stable voltage even with the battery circuit broken or accidentally opened.

Various arrangements may be made to carry out these objects, examples of which are illustrated in the. accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a diagram of one form which the invention may assume.

Figs. 2, 3 and 1 are diagrammatic illustrations of certain modifications.

Fi 5 is an elevation of a panel board on whic the regulating elements are mounted.

Fig. 6 is an elevation, but partly in section of the preferred form of one of th regulating elements.

Fig. 1 illustrates a variable speed generator provided with an armature 1 and a shunt field 2. A compressible rheostat 3 is normally in series with the field and is controlled by a coil 4 in series with the generator. The .rheostat 3 is operated by a Y across the lamp circuit.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed September 25, 1912. Serial No. 722,276.

bell crank lever 5 normally held in such a position as to reduce to a minimum the resistance of the rheostat. A dash pot 6 steadies the action of the bell crank lever.

A second compressible rheostat 8 is adapted under predetermined conditions to be placed in shunt to the field. This rheostat rests upon the plunger 9 of a voltage coil 10 connected across the generator leads. When the plunger 9 is in its normal position it closes through contacts 11 and 12 a short circuit around a resistance 7 in circuit with the field, and when in its operated or raised position it opens the short circuit and closes a circuit between the rheostat 8 and a fixed contact 13 included in a circuit in parallel with the generator field. An automatic switch 1 1 controls the connection between the generator and a battery 15 and lamps or other translating devices 16 arranged in parallel across the line.

The regulating elements have been illustrated and described as compressible rhe0- stats, but it is to be understood that any other forms of resistance elements may be substituted therefor.

If desired, a regulator 17, here shown as a compressible rheostat controlled by a voltage coil 18, may be arranged in series in the lamp circuit to protect the same. The effect of this regulator may be increased by arranging an additional compressible rheostat 19 in series with the controlling coil 18, and operating the same by a voltage coil 20 The specific lamp regulator forms no part of this invention and may be substituted by any preferred type.

The regulating system as illustrated in Fig. 1 operates substantially as follows: Vith the generator at rest the automatic switch 14: will be open and the battery 15 will supply the lamp load. The contacts 11 and 12 being closed and the coil 1 deenergized, the resistance 7 is short circuited and the resistance 3 reduced to a minimum. As the generator starts its field will build up rapidly until the voltage of the generator reaches substantially the battery voltage, when the automatic switch 14 will close. Upon further rise in voltage the regulating coil 4 will operate to increase the resistance 3 and tend to maintain constant generator output to charge thebattery and supply a circuit in parallel with the field from conductor 21 through conductors 22 and 2-3, contact 13, rheostat 8, conductor to the point 25, where it unites with the field circuit from conductor 21 through point 25, resistance 7, conductor 26 and resistance 8. The resistance thus inserted in the field circuit and the effect oiithe parallel circuit described are sufiicient to reduce the charg ing current practically to zero, whereupon the rheostat 3 will again return to its minimum resistance value. From this point the generator regulated for constant potential by means of the coil 10, which decreases the resistance of rheostat 8 and thus diverts more current from the field with every tendency to increase the voltage. Under these conditions the battery is merely floating across the line and constant potential is maintained, regardless of whether the battery circuit is opened or not, and even with the battery circuit accidentally opened a stable voltage is held throughout the entire range of speed of the generator.

A regulator of this type is particularly adapted for high generator speeds, when the field magnets are operating a low flux density 0 ing which the machine would respond to very slight changes in voltage across its field. An inductive circuit, such as the field winding, when connected in series with a non-inductive resistance such as the rheostat 3, especially where such resistance is high when compared with the inductive resistance, is very sensitive to variations in impressed voltage. This feature, together with the unsable condition of the magnetic circuit, would make close regulation ditficult at widely varying speeds without the auxiliary regulator here provided. The field winding in this arrangement being shunted by the non-induc tive resistance 8 prevents rapid changes in the magnetic flux in the generator, as any tendency to a rapid change is immediately encountered by the develoi nnent of an E. M. F. in the field winding, which sets up a current through the local circuit comprising rheostat S, which tends to retard initial flux changes. The higher the generator speed the less the value of this resistance and consequently the apparatus becomes even more stable at the higher speeds than at the lower.

Fig. 2 illustrates a. modified a 'rangement in which the action 01'. the coil 10 is multiplied by means of a bell crank lever 26 which, when the plunger 9 is raised, provides increased leverage to compress the rheostat 8. The contact 13 may be dispensed with as illustrated in this form and a permanent connection made at 27.

Fig. 3 illustrates a modification in which the short circuiting contacts 11 and 12 are dispensed with and the resistance 7 arranged permanently in circuit. A-spring 28 may be provided to assist in returning the plunger 9 to its inoperative position. Vhen the auxiliary regulator comes into operation in this modification, a circuit is established from the line 21 through conductors 22 and 23. contact 13, auxiliary regulator 8 and conductor 24; to the point through resistance 7, conductor 26 and main regulator 3. The electrical arrangen'ient is the same as in Fig. 1, with the omission of the contacts 11 and 12 and the short circuit controlled thereby.

Fig. 4- illustrates a similar system in which, however, the resistance 7 is controlled by contacts 29 and 30 arranged to short circuit the resistance only while the automatic switch 9 is open. As soon as the generator has picked up and the switch has closed, the resistance is cut into the field circuit.

Figs. 5 and 6 illustrate rangement oi the various regulating and controlling elements of the system.

In Fig. 5 a panel board 31 carries the current regulator 3, the automatic switch 14, the auxiliary generator regulator S and the lamp regulator, designated as a whole by K. Terminal posts and fuses of familiar construction are indicated on the panel board.

F ig. 6 illustrates in more detail the novel auxiliary regulator. In this figure the parts, which correspond to the elements indicated on the diagrammatic. figures, are similarly designated and are the resistance element 8, which consists of a pile of electrodes of carbon or other conducting material the resistance of which may be varied by varying the pressure thereon, the plunger 9, which under control of the winding 10 determines the pressure on the elec trodes, the short circuiting contacts 11 and 12, the fixed contact 13 and the spring 28. The contact 11 fits closely within the cylinder 82 and thus provides a dash pot which steadies the action of the regulator. The elements are compactly arranged and are inc-losed in suitable casing and properly in sulated.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. Means for regulating a generator com prising a current operated resistance in sea. practical arries 'withthe' field thereof, and a voltage operated resistance-in a circuit in shunt to the field. o

2. In a regulating system, a variable speed generator, means tending to cause the generator to produce constant current, and voltage responsive means tending upon a predetermined rise in voltage to cause the generator to operate at constant potential,

said last named means comprising a resist-' anee in shunt to the generator field, and means for decreasing said resistance as the generator voltage tends to rise.

3. Regulating means for a variable speed shunt wound generator includin in combination with the shunt field winding a variable resistance in series therewith, and means for connecting a second variable resistance in. shunt to said winding under predetermined conditions, whereby the stability of operation of the generator at high speeds is increased and the output thereof regulated.

4. In a regulating system, a variable speed generator, means tending to cause the generator to produce constant current, a shunt circuit around the generator field, and, in addition a. single means to close said shunt circuit and thereafter to vary the resistance thereof to regulate the generator.

5. In a regulating system, a variable voltage source, means tending to regulate the voltage of said source to cause the same to produce a constant current, and an auxiliary regulating means operating upon a predetermined voltage condition to predominate in regulating said source and to maintain constant potential therefrom, said auxiliary means including means for increasing the stability of operation of the generator at high speeds.

6. In a generator regulator, a variable resistance in series with the field, a fixed resistance normally short circuited, means operable upon a predetermined voltage rise to open said short circuit and place said fixed resistance in series with said variable resistance and said field, and means also operable by said last mentioned means for increasing the stability of operation of the generator at high speeds.

7. In combination, a generator provided with a shunt field, a variable resistance in circuit therewith, a circuit in parallel with said field, said second circuit including a resistance, and independent means for varying the respective resistances in accordance with varying electrical conditions of the system.

8. In combination with a variable speed shunt wound generator, a regulator for the field thereof, an auxiliary regulator adapted under predetermined conditions to regulate said field, a current coil for operating one of said regulating means, and a voltage coil for the by said generator, an auxiliary regulator comprising a normally open circuited resistance in parallel with said field, and a voltage coil designed to close the circuit for said last named resistance and to decrease the resistance thereof upon said battery reaching a predetermined voltage.

10. In a regulating system, a variable speed generator provided with a shunt field, a compressible rheostat in series with said field, a series coil for controlling said rheostat, a second compressible rheostat adapted to be connected in shunt to said field, and a coil connected across the system for compressing said second rheostat on predetermined voltage conditions in the system.

11. In a regulating system, a variable speed generator provided with a shunt field, a storage battery charged thereby, a compressible rheostat in series with said field, a series coil for controlling said rheostat, a second compressible rheostat normally open circuited, adapted to be connected in shunt to said field, and a coil connected across the system, adapted to close the circuit for said second compressible rheostat and to vary the compression thereon upon predetermined rise in voltage of the system.

12. A regulating system for a variable speed generator includin a variable resistance in series with the field winding, current operated means for varyin said resistance, and an auxiliary regulating means, said means including a normally open circuited device and operating means therefor, said operating means acting under predetermined conditions to connect said device in circuit and thereafter to operate said device to control the generator voltage.

13. In a car lighting system, a variable speed'shunt wound generator, a storage battery to be charged thereby, regulating means generator including a variable resistance in series with the field winding, current operated means for varying said resistance, an auxiliary normally open-circuited regulating device, and a coil responsive to battery voltage adapted on the voltage of the battery reaching a predetermined maximum to connect said auxiliary regulator in circuit and thereafter to operate said regulator to control the generator volt- 14. In a regulating system, a variable voltage source, means tending to regulate the voltage of said source to cause the same to produce a constant current, and an auxiliary regulating -means operating upon In witness whereof I have hereunto subpredeternnned voltage conditlon to predomlnate in regulating said source and to main- Witnesses. t-ain constant potential therefrom, said auX- WILLIAM-A, TURBAYNE. iliary means including field shuntlng means htn'esses:

for increasing the stability of operation of E. P. HANNIG, The generator at high speeds.

F. J. CALLAHANl Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing .the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C3

scribed my nalnehin the presence of two 

